- Date
- June 5, 1988, 13:30 local (17:30 UTC)
- Place
- Erwinna, PA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N1240SSchweizer SGS-2-33
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 16, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880605018409A
- Case key
- 36163
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Accident was a loss of directional control during landing which followed a hard landing. Contributing was the improper use of spoiler control by the private pilot and the failure of the flight instructor to adequately supervise the actions of the private pilot.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The instructor pilot (CFI) rprtd that when he & the private plt were landing, full spoilers were used. Subsequently, the glider settled very rapidly, touched down hard, bounced, and the right wing dropped. The glider then turned about 70 deg to the right, went down an incline & hit trees. The CFI rprtd the wind was from 300 deg at 18 gusting 26 KTS.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1240S
- Reported as
- Schweizer SGS-2-33
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 222
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Country Aviation
- Registered owner
- Bernard C. Tierney
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- 9N1
- Destination
- 9N1
- Airport
- 9N1 · Vansant, runway 23, 1,340 × 200 ft, grass/turf
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 68
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 5,123 total · 492 in this make and model · 5 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 18 knots, gusting 26
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.